NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 17 – Travellers using Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) may soon no longer be required to remove their shoes during security screening as the government moves to modernise airport security and improve passenger experience.
Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) Board Chairperson Caleb Kositany said the authority is in the process of installing advanced security scanners that will allow passengers to pass through screening without removing footwear.
Speaking during a press briefing, Kositany said JKIA will also roll out facial recognition technology, enabling passengers—particularly those on domestic flights—to move through checkpoints without presenting physical identification documents.
“Part of what we need to do immediately to enhance passenger comfort within our airports is to install modern scanners so that passengers do not have to remove their shoes during screening,” Kositany said.
“We also want to board passengers without them having to carry identification cards. Facial recognition will make it easier for passengers, especially on domestic routes, to move in and out of the airport,” he added.
Kositany said the upgrades form part of broader infrastructure improvements aimed at boosting JKIA’s capacity to handle rising passenger and aircraft traffic more than four decades after its commissioning.
Planned developments include the construction of a rapid exit taxiway to improve runway clearance times and the building of a second runway to accommodate increased flight movements amid growing travel demand.
“JKIA was commissioned in 1978 and was designed to handle about two million passengers annually. We have now surpassed that capacity more than threefold,” Kositany said.
He noted that congestion during peak hours has become a major challenge, both within the terminal and on access roads, as well as on the airside.
The KAA chairperson said the government is actively seeking international partners to support the financing of the airport’s modernisation.
President William Ruto recently said the renovation of JKIA, alongside the construction of a new international airport to complement it, is expected to begin next year.
